Kathleen Wynne makes clear she has little desire to work with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford

She didn’t say “never,” but Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne made it very clear Tuesday that she doesn’t want to meet with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

After meeting with Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly, the city councillor who now holds many of the mayor’s key powers, the premier was repeatedly asked if she would also meet with Ford.

Wynne responded by dodging and weaving around questions about the troubled mayor, who drew a sharp rebuke from the premier last month admit his admissions about crack use, binge drinking and his repeated outbursts at city hall.

“I had the meeting with Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly because he is the representative of Toronto city council,” Wynne said when asked about Ford. “The relationship between the province and the city has to be with the city council where the decisions are made and so, that’s why I am meeting with the deputy mayor.

“The on-going discussion will be with the representative of city council, who is the deputy mayor.”

While the two leaders said many issues were discussed they gave the impression that the meeting was more intended to show off a working relationship.

“I was looking forward to meeting with the premier to let her know that she has stable reliable partner moving forward,” Kelly told reporters at the joint press conference.

“At city hall we now have a stable, calm and reasonable government that is looking forward to working with each other.”

Mayor Ford says he asked the premier for a meeting a month ago and she didn’t want to meet with him then. He sent a letter to the premier’s office saying it was “appropriate” to meet with him.

“However, I believe that it would be most appropriate for you to meet with the elected mayor of Toronto on these matters, which affect our city as a whole,” he said in a letter dated Monday.

Wynne said she couldn’t find a date that would work for both her and Ford during last month’s troubles at city hall.

“When the changes were made it seemed important to meet with the deputy mayor,” she said.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak did not comment on whether Wynne should meet with Ford.

Councillor Doug Ford called Tuesday’s meeting between Kelly and Wynne as one of “two unelected leaders.”

Wynne dismissed the claim and suggested those making it should brush up on their political science.

“Both Deputy Mayor Kelly and I are elected…anyone who has questions about that, needs to look at way city council, the way provincial government and the parliamentary system works,” she said.

Last month, Wynne said she was considering taking action to sanction the mayor if city council asked the province for assistance following Ford’s admission of smoking crack cocaine. City council can not legally remove the mayor.

Wynne described Ford’s behaviour, which included a inebriated rant about killing someone and an oral sex reference about his wife, as “truly disturbing.”